Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH – Free Report) by 73.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 674,155 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Equitable were worth $11,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQH. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Equitable by 92.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Equitable during the second quarter valued at about $1,712,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Equitable during the second quarter valued at about $1,133,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Equitable by 1,126.5% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 291,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,332,000 after acquiring an additional 267,389 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Equitable by 45.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 626,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,120,000 after acquiring an additional 196,729 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Equitable Stock Up 1.3%
NYSE:EQH opened at $41.33 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.22. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.19 and a 52-week high of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.75, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.11.
Equitable announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Equitable Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Equitable’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is presently -42.25%.
Insider Activity at Equitable
In other Equitable news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 39,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.63, for a total transaction of $1,652,711.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 789,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,853,688.29. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Nick Lane sold 4,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.45, for a total transaction of $187,501.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 124,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,273,054.10. The trade was a 3.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 156,661 shares of company stock worth $6,413,437. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently weighed in on EQH. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equitable from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Equitable from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore set a $63.00 price objective on Equitable and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Equitable from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.18.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Equitable
Equitable Company Profile
Equitable Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EQH) is a leading provider of life insurance, annuities and retirement plan services in the United States. Through its insurance subsidiary, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, the firm offers a broad range of permanent and term life insurance products designed to help individuals and families manage risk and build wealth. In addition, Equitable provides fixed, variable and indexed annuity solutions to support income planning in retirement, as well as a suite of group retirement and pension plan services for employers and plan sponsors.
The company also maintains an asset management arm that delivers investment strategies across equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes for both retail and institutional clients.
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